Jennifer Maxwell said she turned around after spotting the distressed 12-year-old along U.S. Highway 421 and learned the girl said she had been kidnapped.
ERWIN, N.C. — A Harnett County woman who helped a 12-year-old girl reach safety after an alleged kidnapping says she was driving home from work Sunday when the child suddenly emerged from a wooded area along U.S. Highway 421, ran down an embankment and collapsed near the road crying.
Jennifer Maxwell said she initially continued past the girl while looking in her rearview mirror and expecting another driver to stop. When no one did, she turned around. Maxwell told WRAL that she lowered her window and asked the child whether she was OK. The girl told her she had been kidnapped. Maxwell then brought the child into her vehicle and called 911.
The encounter became a key moment in a search that ended with the girl safely reunited with her family and 38-year-old Daniel Francis Gear in custody. Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats said Gear is accused of kidnapping the girl from a home in the Lillington area on Sunday. Gear has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and assault on a female. The charges are allegations, and the case has not been adjudicated.
Maxwell said she was driving near the Department of Motor Vehicles office when she noticed the girl coming out of the woods. “All of a sudden, this little girl came running out of the woods and down the embankment,” Maxwell told WRAL. “She kind of just dropped in the ditch and was just crying hysterically.” Maxwell said she decided she could not leave without checking on her.
The girl was not wearing shoes and had scratches on her when Maxwell found her, Maxwell said. She did not know how the scratches occurred. Maxwell said the girl described having walked through a wooded area for an extended period before reaching the highway. Authorities have not publicly released the child’s name, and news organizations have withheld her identity because she is a minor.
According to Maxwell’s account of what the girl told her, the child had spent the night at a friend’s home before leaving with Gear. Maxwell said the girl told her they later went into a wooded area and walked for hours. Those details were relayed by Maxwell from her conversation with the child and have not all been independently established through publicly released investigative records.
After calling for help, Maxwell drove the girl to the Erwin Police Department, where officers took over and arranged additional care. Maxwell also helped authorities identify the area where she had found the girl. The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office said the child was taken to a hospital and later released to recover with her family.
Deputies were searching for Gear after finding his vehicle in the area but initially finding no sign of him, according to Sheriff Coats. Authorities warned during the search that Gear could be armed and dangerous. Deputies later located him Sunday night in a wooded area along U.S. 421 and took him into custody. Coats said Gear lived near the home where the girl had been visiting a friend and said Gear did not have a relationship with the child.
Maxwell’s involvement did not end at the police station. She said she was involved in a vehicle crash after leaving the department and went to a hospital for an evaluation. While there, she unexpectedly saw the girl again. Maxwell said the child’s parents later approached her and thanked her for helping their daughter.
Maxwell has resisted describing herself as a hero, saying she happened to be in the right place when the girl needed someone to stop. “I just thank God that I was there, cause if it was my daughter, I’d want someone to be there also,” she told WRAL. Gear remained charged in connection with the case after his arrest, while the girl was reported to be recovering with her family. A Harnett County judge set Gear’s bond at $2.5 million during a Monday court appearance, according to CBS 17 reporting.
Author note: Last updated August 19, 2026.